Secrets of The RUNE
by Rase22 Lord Of Shadows
Summary: a strange new way of fighting, a new life, a deadly curse. watch as naruto fights against all odds. NaruxHarem
1. Chapter 1

NARUTO:SECRETS OF THE RUNE

CHAPTER ONE: AWAKEN THE POWER

Runes are the basic source of power, they gather chakra and depending on the person create special skills. Each rune a person controls is different from the next, thus making it hard to determine a persons attack type. Runes have the abilities to hold jutsu, making it easier to access them, giving you a split second advantage over your opponent. While they are faster, they aren't always better, simply because they drain more chakra than the jutsu would, because with the rune you mold your chakra freely, rather than molding it with handseals.

"Good job Sakura, that's exactly right." Iruka told the pink haired student. "Alright guys, I have good news, this year you'll be starting on the design of your runes. When you graduate, we'll present them to you."

The class erupted in cheers, all except four students. The first was Shikamaru Nara, he didn't cheer because it was simply to troublesome. The next was Shino Aburame, showing emotions wasn't his style. The third was the number one student of the year, Sasuke Uchiha, cheering was a show of weakness. And the last was Naruto Namikaze, who was too busy reading a book on rare runes to care.

Naruto leaned slightly to the left as a piece of chalk flew by his head. "Naruto, are you even listening to me?" Iruka asked.

The blonde boy looked up from his book slowly. "Hmm, what'd you say?"

The class erupted in laughter as Iruka sighed. "You know, I just don't understand you."

Naruto sat in a tree, his eyes still glued to his book. 'The Kyuubi eh sounds like a dangerous rune. Wonder where I can find it.'

Naruto closed his book as a girl walked up to his tree and looked at him. "Hey, Hinata-chan, I didn't see you in class today."

"I'm surprised you can see anything besides that book, but no, father wanted me to aid in Hanabi's training." The young Hyuuga heiress stated as Naruto jumped from the tree.

"Hmm, haven't been around to see her in a while. How's she progressing?" Naruto asked.

"She's getting better at her chakra control, also the juken, but father is reluctant in her learning runes. He said that two from this generation branching away is enough."

"Two, who's the other?" Naruto asked as they began walking towards the red district of Konoha.

" My cousin Neji." Hinata stated. " He's only fourteen, a year older than us, but he acts like he's way older than me."

Naruto pulled out a small black chain with a strange tag on it. Written on the tag was the word _illusion_. Naruto held it close to him and Hinata before pushing chakra into it. The air around them wavered as the rune put an illusion around them. Naruto looked like a twenty three year old man, with white hair and blue eyes. The whisker marks on Naruto's face vanished and his clothes were different. He wore a plain black long sleeve shirt under a plain white tee-shirt. He wore black pants and a pair of black boots. Hinata looked like a twenty year old woman, with purple hair and eyes. She wore a simple blue skirt with a white shirt and a pair of plain blue ninja sandals.

" Ready Nirvana." The white haired man asked his partner who nodded.

The two walked into the FireStar Tavern, where they were greeted with nods from everyone.

" Yo Ruzel, Nirvana, join me for a drink." A man called from the bar.

Naruto walked over and sat down, Nirvana sitting next to him. As soon as they sat, two glasses of sake was placed in front of them.

" So Lu, got any info for me?" Ruzel asked after he sipped his drink.

" Heh, don't I always." The man, Lurez, stated. " I heard that a group of nin were looking for a rare rune behind the Hokage monument. They never found anything, but I'm sure that you could find whatever they were looking for."

" Alright I'll be sure to look. Now I need you to find some information on Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon rune." Ruzel stated.

" The nine tail eh, I'll see what I can do, but people have been looking for it for years and they still don't have a lead on it. Though I heard Kumo and Suna both found themselves one of the tailed runes." Lu explained.

Nirvana looked at him. " Hey Lu, I need some info this time also. See if you can find a four star Phoenix, it's the only one I'm missing from the collection."

" Got it, a four star Phoenix and Kyuubi. Come back in about a month and I'll see what I got." Lu stated. " I'll be headin to Wave in a bit, so I'll try to get info from them."

Naruto and Hinata left, then dropped the _illusion_.

" What's up with the Kyuubi rune?" Hinata asked as the two walked out of the red district.

Naruto pulled out his book and showed the rune to Hinata. The rune was a red fox with nine tails swirling behind him, the eyes were rubies. The tips of the tails were made of special gems that held the power in.

" It's one of the rarest runes, it has almost unstoppable power and it has control over fire, wind, lightning, metal, shadows, and chaos along with fox summons."

" Why's it called a demon rune?" Hinata asked reading the description under it.

Naruto grinned. " The nine demon runes are the strongest, but also the most dangerous. Without proper training, the demon runes can take over your mind and turn you into a demon. One that only wants the blood of other spread across the world."

" Then why do you want it?"

Naruto looked at the Hokage monument. " My father told me once that a man is only as great as his will to protect someone. With the Kyuubi in my possession I'll be able to protect those close to me, even if it means losing myself. And Hinata-hime, if I ever lose myself, I want you to stop me, no one else, just you."

Hinata looked at the monument with Naruto and nodded. " The same to you, if I ever lose myself I want you to stop me." Hinata leaned over and kissed Naruto on his cheek.

" Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama requested that I bring you home." A voice called from behind the two thirteen year olds.

They spun around and standing behind them with a smile on his face was Hinata's uncle…

" Ojisan(Uncle), I asked you not to call me that." Hinata whined.

" I know, but it's fun, besides we have an image to uphold in public." Hiziashi stated.

" Hello Hiziashi-san." Naruto stated.

" Naruto how have you been, haven't seen you around the compound lately." The Byakugan user stated.

Naruto grinned. " I've been training, I found some old runes of my dad's and I've been trying them out."

" Well, you keep at it, one day you'll be a runemaster just like your old man." Hiziashi stated. " So how many runes have you mastered so far?"

Naruto laughed sheepishly. " Well, you see the thing about that is, almost all the runes dad had are A-ranked, I managed two, one is the _Kage _rune, three major moves in that one, _Kage Bunshin_, _Shuriken Kage Bunshin_, and the _Kage Senko`_.I also mastered another of his, but I can't reveal that info yet."

" Quite impressive for someone your age Naruto. Well, me and Hinata must be going." Hiziashi stated turning to leave.

Hinata hugged Naruto. " Bye Naru-kun, I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Naruto walked into the large compound he owned. Although he was an orphan, he wasn't always like that, he lived with his parents for a while, till he turn ten. They died on a mission. Naruto sighed as he dropped his _illusion_ rune into the slot on the door, placing an illusion over the house. Naruto walked into the bathroom and glared at his reflection. The whisker-like marks on his cheeks would never go away, not until _she died,_ not until the witch who had cursed him was gone.

The next day Naruto woke before dawn and quickly ran through his morning exercises. He did one hundred push ups, one hundred sit ups, and began his morning run around Konoha.

Naruto was just starting his run when two green blurs shot past him, spinning him around and disorienting him.

"Sorry about that, you'll have to excuse them." A feminine voice called as Naruto shook his head.

Naruto looked behind him and stared at the girl in the pink Chinese outfit.

"Oh, yea, huh, what?" Naruto said causing the girl to giggle.

"My sensei and teammate run through here around this time." The girl said.

The green blurs came back and Naruto wanted to rip his eyes out.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Naruto asked rudely.

The large one flashed a pose. "Only the most hip training suit in the world."

"Hip, huh. No I think not, now my outfit is hip." Naruto said gesturing to his black shirt and shorts. "Loose enough to breathe, but not enough to restrict my movements."

The mini eyesore looked at his sensei and yell. "GAI-SENSEI PERHAPS I HAVE FINALLY FOUND MY ETERNAL RIVAL."

"IF NOT, I WILL DO ONE THOUSAND PUSH UPS WHILE HOLDING A TWO TON BOULDER."

"AND IF YOU CAN'T DO THAT, I WILL DO THREE HUNDRED LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE ON ONE HAND."

"AND IF YOU DO NOT SUCCEED I WILL FIGHT OFF SEVEN HUNDRED MISSING NIN WITH ONLY MY PINKY."

They continued calling things out; completely unaware that Naruto was ignoring them. In Naruto's hands was another book, this one orange. Tenten looked at the book and glared as she read the title, _Icha Icha Paradise_.

"LEE." "GAI-SENSEI." "LEE." "GAI-SENSEI."

Tenten saw the sunset coming and an evil glint was in her eyes as she looked at Naruto.

"Hey kid, I'll forgive you for reading that book in my presence, if you agree to be my teammate's rival."

Naruto gulped as he felt the girl's killer intent sweep over him. "Y-yea, I'll do it."

Lee and Gai broke apart and looked to Naruto, tears running down their face.

It was at that moment, that Naruto did something smart…he ran. It was short lived however when the two caught up to him. Naruto dashed down an alley, they followed. Naruto ran into the forest of death they followed, but somewhere in between those trees Naruto lost them.

"Thank kami, I finally lost them." Naruto said pulling out his book, before heading home to get dressed for class.

"Alright everyone, the first step to making your personalized rune is creating the type of techniques you want it to hold." Iruka said to the students. "So, were going to spend three classes a week for the next three years creating those techniques. Now, on the table up front is the material for the rune, in order to make the rune yours, you must design it yourself."

Sure enough, five boxes sat in the front of the class, holding slabs of metal. The label each, for what they're best used as on the front of the box.

"Alright, when I call your name, come down and pick out the metal you want for your rune."

Iruka stated.

Naruto pulled out his orange book, ignoring most of the others' choices.

Finally, twenty six names later Naruto closed his book and walked down to the front. Naruto read the descriptions on the box.

Box 1 Steel, good for fighting based techniques and strength enhancing techniques, more physical than anything else. Sturdy, techniques tend to be slower than others.

Box 2 Radium, good for high control techniques, such as medic techniques, genjutsu is useful in these. Frail, techniques tend to wear down user fast, often used outside of battle.

Box 3 Tungsten, good for weapon enhancing techniques, light weight, also good with fire techniques. Hard to control, techniques tend to be chakra consuming.

Box 4 Titanium, good for high level techniques, holds up to three techniques, also good with most elements. Resistant, tends to reject fifty percent of the chakra pushed into it.

Box 5 Orichalcum, strong, sturdy, good for raw power techniques, such as the Yodaime's prized Rasengan and Hatake Kakashi's Raikiri. Hard to meld techniques into, tends to reject most techniques place in it.

Naruto looked at each metal individually, holding each in his hand and studying it. Naruto held a piece of titanium in one hand and orichalcum in the other.

Naruto looked to Iruka. "Can I use both of these?"

Iruka nodded. "You can, but most students only choose one, until their chunin."

"I want these two." Naruto said, Iruka marked it down and Naruto went to sit down.

On his way to his seat, he noticed Sasuke glaring at him. "What's up teme?"

"My sister told me to make sure you remembered you're having dinner with her tonight." Sasuke said in a low whisper.

Naruto blushed as he thought of the slightly older Uchiha, one of the only three Itachi had let live. Naruto nodded and continued to his seat, where he whipped out his orange book and began reading. The door opened and in came Hinata, dressed in the standard Hyuuga attire.

"Sorry I'm late sensei, I had to take care of some things." Hinata stated.

"Alright, come down here and pick the metal for your rune." Iruka told the pale eyed girl.

Hinata walked to the front and grabbed a piece of steel, perfect for juken.

Mizuki grabbed the boxes and took them away as Iruka addressed the class. "Alright, each of you will be crafting your own rune later in the year and part of next year. Until then, we have work to be done. Take out your books," The class groaned. "and turn to the chapter on ninja duties. And no Naruto, I don't mean your orange book." The girls glared at Naruto as these words were said.

"Meh, I already read it." Naruto stated holding up his book.

"Then move on to the next chapter."

"Read it too, I read the whole book," Naruto stated yawning. "Twice, it's actually very boring."

Iruka didn't doubt Naruto had read it, but he had to be sure. "Alright then, what's the book say about tactics?"

"It says many things about tactics, ranging from group to solo, even guarding tactics, but the most important tactic was to keep an eye peeled for change and be ready to adapt. Simply because in the world of ninja, where anything can happen, it probably will." Naruto stated.

Iruka took a moment to process the info, then stated. "Alright, head to room seven twenty, hand them this and they'll begin your next lesson."

Naruto walked into the room, his face glued in his orange book, the note held out in his other hand. The teacher had silver hair and a mask covering his face, he wore a standard jounin vest and his right eye was covered by his hitai-ate. His eye was also glued in an orange book; his other hand grabbed the note, which he scanned without looking up.

"What's up Naruto." The Jounin greeted.

" Hey Kakashi." The boy replied.

With a sigh, the two closed their books and put them away. Kakashi looked at Naruto briefly.

The blonde was wearing a blue shirt, with a light silver metal plate over the stomach. Over the shirt was a black hooded jacket, the hood was down as was the zipper. He wore a pair of loose black jeans, the left leg was folded up, showing the bottom of his leg, where a tattoo of a dragon was wrapping around his leg. Around his wrists were two chains attached to two runes. On the back of Naruto's shirt was the Namikaze crest, a moon with a sword going through it. The crest represented their kekkei genkai, the Talingan. (More will be revealed later).

Naruto yawned. " So what will you be teaching me?"

" I won't, you'll be teaching yourself, I'm just here to give pointers and sponsor you." Kakashi stated. " First, you find out what type of jutsu you like, be it raw chakra techniques like your fathers, or assassination techniques like mine, or whatever."

Naruto nodded before sitting Indian style on the floor and meditating. Kakashi shrugged then pulled out his book and began reading again.

Two hours later, Kakashi was about to believe Naruto had fallen asleep when the blonde sigh, opened his eyes, and stood.

" Alright, I got it." Naruto stated. " Should I tell you it or…"

Kakashi shook his head. " Nah, a ninja's greatest weapon is surprise and deception. While I may supervise you, I won't try to help you with this jutsu of yours."

Naruto shrugged and let out a deep breathe before closing his eyes once more. Naruto's body began to glow as his chakra began to cover his body, then in a sudden move Naruto opened his eyes and concentrated on his right arm and hand. The chakra settled into his arm, but nothing else happened. Kakashi looked at the boy briefly and was about to turn away, when the air around the boy's arm wavered. Naruto's chakra, suddenly flared and his arm exploded, in a flash of blue light.

" Shit that hurt." Naruto stated cradling his arm, which was bleeding profusely.

" Alright, that's enough for today, go to the infirmary and get your arm treated, don't try that technique without someone being around." Kakashi stated. " I'll go inform the Sandaime of your achievements." Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves as Naruto stood and left.

Naruto sat on top of the Hokage Monument, waiting for his friends. Suddenly three figures appeared beside him in a flash. The first was Hyuuga Hinata, wearing a tight tan shirt that hugged her c-cup and blue pants, with a standard pair of shinobi sandals. The next was a girl with silver hair, red eyes and tan skin. She wore a blue vest and had bandages wrapped around her chest below the vest. Strapped to her back was a blood red guitar, with a black rose on the back. She wore loose fitted blue pants, with her weapon pouch strapped to her left thigh, and closed toe sandals. Her name was Hatake Aria, daughter of Kakashi and Inuzuka Rin. Like her name said, she dealt with music type combat, as the five runes engraved in the body of the guitar showed. The last was none other than Uchiha Raven, Sasuke's twin sister. She wore her hair in a braid, and wore the standard Uchiha shirt, along with dark blue pants and a small blade attached to her side. The girls looked at Naruto, who was wearing a blue shirt, with a light silver metal plate over the stomach. Over the shirt was a black hooded jacket, the hood was up but the zipper was down. He wore a pair of loose black jeans, the left leg was folded up, showing the bottom of his leg, where a tattoo of a dragon was wrapping around his leg. Around his wrists were three chains attached to five runes. On the back of Naruto's jacket was the Namikaze crest, a moon with a sword going through it. The crest represented their kekkei genkai, the Talingan. He wore a pair of black gloves and had a lance stabbing into the ground in front of him. The pole of the lance was blood red and the blade was black. A silver dragon circled the top of the pole and the head stopped an inch into the blade. The tail of the pole which was sticking in the air had a small blade extending from it.

" Ready to go ladies?" Naruto asked grabbing the pole.

The girls nodded and they all vanish in a flash.

" So where are we?" Aria asked staring at the strange carving on the walls.

Naruto was studying the markings, a black book in his left had as his right trailed over the indents. " The entrance to the Hall of Sealing. Lu said someone was looking for runes around here, but they never found anything. I figured if there was a rune back here it would be in the hall of sealing." Naruto said as he continued his chakra scan.

" I thought only the Hokages know how to enter the hall?" Raven asked. " I'm pretty sure my father would have entered if he could."

Naruto was silent for a moment as he grinned and press a tile. The carvings glowed blue, then the wall began rumbling as in slowly opened.

" Heh, my father had the book in his study and when he died, I went in there and took it, before the cleaners could. Jiji asked me about it, but I told him it was lost. I'm sure he didn't believe me but he had no proof." Naruto said grabbing his lance and walking into the dark entrance.

The dragon on Naruto's blade began glowing an ethereal blue and as his body vanished into the darkness, the girls could have sworn they felt a chill run down their spine.

' That light, just like the glaring glow of will-o-the-wisp.' Hinata thought as she followed.

They paused after ten minutes of walking because of the block. Standing in front of them, was a pale wraithlike creature. It's mouth was sewn shut, its eyes covered in bandages, and two metal pikes extended from it's left temple. A large hole where it's heart was supposed to be, it's clothes mere rags. It's hands had mouths on the palms and eyes on the back. It's legs hovered several inches from the floor.

" Shit, a shade. Never expected one of these down here." Naruto hissed.

Hinata charged forward. " I got it."

" Hinata, don't." But it was too late, the shade turned black as Hinata struck with a palm strike. Her hand continued through it's body and the shade grabbed her shoulder tightly. Her arm turned black as she fell to the floor screaming in pain. The bandages around its eyes fell off and in it's eyes was the pale eyes of a Hyuuga, Byakugan active.

Naruto charged and swung his lance at it, aiming for it's head. It released Hinata and glided back dodging the attack. Naruto grabbed Hinata and leapt back.

" What the hell Naruto, why does it have the Byakugan?" Raven questioned eying the shade as it turned pale once more.

Naruto ripped the sleeve of his jacket and flooded the clothe with chakra, before wrapping it around Hinata's arm.

" Shades have the ability to drain the lifeforce of any living thing and take things from it. While it was draining Hinata, it found the Byakugan properties in her eyes. Hinata no longer has hers and if we don't kill it soon, she won't have it again." Naruto said grimly. " And as long as it has her Byakugan, there's only one of us that can hit it." Naruto looked at Aria.

" A sound blast in this small space may cause a cave in." Aria replied. " We could all die."

" Don't worry, I'll reinforce the walls with my chakra." Naruto slammed his lance into the ground and forced chakra into it.

The walls began glowing as Aria pluck the strings on her guitar. " _Reqium of Disaster._" She called.

Three waves of silver chakra shot forward, bouncing of the walls which amplified the attack. The shade tried turning black, but because it wasn't a physical attack, it was still hit. The shade fell to the ground and let out an unholy scream. Naruto pulled his lance from the ground and attacked the shade. Light began poring from the shades mouth, eyes, and ears. The shade burst into a ball of light and where it once was sat a small vial of white smoke.

Naruto grabbed the vial and rushed over to Hinata. He popped it open and poured it into her eyes.

" She should be fine, but she can't go on. I want you two to take her back, I'll go ahead for a few more minutes, then I turn back, we'll explore the caves another day." Naruto said walking away before they could protest.

Ten minutes later, Naruto stood before a gold door. The door had several runes in it, and from what Naruto could tell the only way to enter would be destroying them all at once. With a sigh he turned back, glad that he hadn't faced anymore guardians.

" So how is she?" Naruto asked Raven as he entered their safe house.

" She's still out, but she's doing fine." Raven replied. " So, find anything you like?"

Naruto shook his head. " Just a door. I couldn't go on, because there was several runes looking the door and each had a regeneration seal inscribed in them. Got to destroy them together to get through." Naruto sighed as he slumped into the couch.

Raven walked over and sat on his lap, laying her head on his chest. " So much for our dinner date."

" Sorry, but when I heard about it there, I wanted to check it out before anyone else found it." Naruto said. " How can I make it up to you."

Raven grinned. " I can think of a few ways." She pressed her lips to his, in a passionate kiss. " But not tonight, perhaps tomorrow."

She pulled away, causing him to pout.

" Tease." He said.

TIMESKIP( TWO YEARS LATER)

Naruto stood in front of the gold door once more. This time he wore a black shirt, with the Namikaze crest on the back and black pants. His right arm was wrapped in white bandage tape and his left bore seals. He wore a long tattered black cloak, with his lance strapped to his back. Black boots adorned his feet and black gloves his hands. He had seven runes hanging around his neck, all on one chain. The bottom of his pants was wrapped and tucked into his boots. His blonde hair crept along his neck, making him look more like his father. His eyes had changed however, they were still blue, but they had a slit in them and his whisker marks had darkened, showing evidence that the curse was becoming stronger. Wrapped around Naruto's left arm was a thick chain.

Naruto was in the Hall once more, this time he was alone. So far all he had to deal with was three oversized scarabs, with steel shells and acidic blood. Good thing his lance was made of chakra steel.

' Two years I've been working on this technique, it better work.' Naruto thought, unravelling the bandages on his right arm.

His arm was burned, badly and had scars covering it. Naruto grabbed his right bicep and concentrated his chakra. His chakra danced around his arm, before becoming red and blue lightning bolts, which swirled around his arm. It destroyed the flesh as it continued to dance, ending in his palm, where the head began forming a ball. Naruto pulled back his arm, leaving the ball floating two feet from his hand, which still had lightning dancing around it. Suddenly the lightning surrounded his hand and Naruto shot his hand forward. His hand touched the ball and a beam shot forward, with lightning swirling around it. The beam hit the door, and began to eat through the runes, barrier, destroying them before the had a chance to regenerate. Then the door exploded, sending the blonde into the cavern wall with a loud **thud**.

Naruto groaned as he stood. " That technique drains my chakra, I can only use it once more today." Naruto said rewrapping his arm and he stepped through the doorway.

Naruto froze. **Grrrr** **" It's been a while since a mortal has entered my chambers. I thought the door was sealed tightly."**

Standing before Naruto was a large red fox, nine tails swinging behind it. In it's forehead was a rune, but not a normal rune, it was the…

" Kyuubi, no fuckin way." Naruto exclaimed. " I knew there was a great rune back here, but I never expected it to be right under my nose, our behind the hokage's head."

Kyuubi looked at the boy. **" You want my rune boy, then you will have to pass my test. If you can hit me once, I'll bond with you."**

Naruto looked ecstatic as he pulled his lance free and charged. Naruto swung, but a wind shield popped up around the fox. Naruto's lance bounced off the shield. Naruto simply pulled one of the runes free and stuck it in the dragons mouth on his lance. The blade burst into flames. Naruto attacked the shield and set it ablaze.

Naruto grinned, thinking he had won. **" You've got to try harder than that boy. I assume you know I control flames also."**

Naruto's grin faded as he pulled the rune free and dodged the flames that shot at him. Naruto grabbed another rune and held it in front of him as a larger blast of flames shot at him.

" **Ahhh, a barrier, haven't seen on of those runes in a while. Tell me boy, do you know minato Namikaze."** Kyuubi asked.

" He's my father, my name is Naruto. And from what I've read, he was the last one to take your test. Apparently he didn't make the cut." Naruto said.

Kyuubi leapt into the air and shot off a wave of lightning at the boy. **" Trying to succeed where he fail, eh boy."**

Naruto gritted his teeth as the barrier broke and the last wave of lightning struck him. Naruto pulled another rune free and placed it in the dragons mouth. The blade was surrounded by a mini tornado. Naruto swung and a tornado of wind blades shot forward.

Kyuubi grinned and sent for a blast of flames. **" You certainly have more tricks than your father did."** The flames consumed the wind and grew in size.

Naruto grinned and switched runes once more. This time his blade turned black. Naruto swung into the air in front of the flames. A black vortex appeared and sucked up the flames before opening behind…Naruto.

Kyuubi chuckled as Naruto dodged the flames. **" Yes, you certainly are full of more tricks, but everything you use is useless against me. You surprised me with that last attack. I didn't think you would have a shadow rune. You have the cunningness of a kitsune, to bad you aren't one, you'd probably be an eight tail with a few more years of training."**

Naruto switched runes once again, this time his blade turned brown. Naruto jumped at the fox and attacked in rapid succession, but the fox seemed to have caught onto his tricks and charged the air around itself with lightning. The earth was repelled before it could reach. Naruto groan as the foxes tails slammed him into the cavern wall. Naruto stood slowly and replaced his rune again. Naruto paused as he cursed. The room was too damaged to use his water rune.

' I would leave behind my _Kage_ rune today. And the _Rasengan _rune. I can do them without the rune, but it drains me to fast.' Naruto thought as he switched to his last rune.

Naruto unravelled the chain on his left arm and it floated in the air, before shattering into thousands of small needles. Naruto shot them at the fox, who snorted and waved his tails, stopping them in place.

" **If I didn't know better, I would say you were mocking me. Besides the barrier and your earth attacks, everything you've used has been something I control far better than you."** Kyuubi snorted sending the needles back at the blonde. **" I'll give you this, you've got guts. You attack against my attacks, with weaker elements, almost as if you are simply training."**

Naruto twirled his lance, blocking the needles. The blonde shook his head. " I am, but I also want to see my limits, is I lose, than at least I know I gave it my all." Naruto said stabbing his lance into the ground. " This is it, you want me to hit you, then I put everything I got into this next attack, I only ask that you counter it with chaos, I want to at least have seen a chaos blast before I leave."

" **Very well brat, give it your all, and I will honor you by doing the same."** Kyuubi reared his head and black and red balls of energy began forming in front of it.

Naruto began to pour all his chakra into both his arms, preparing a double blast. Lightning swirled around both arms, burning his flesh and destroying the bandages on his right arm. The lightning had three strands this time, red, blue, and black.

Kyuubi was surprised once more, the boy was unconsciously pulling chaos energy from Kyuubi's attack.

The lightning grew and compressed as the balls began to form in his palms. Naruto pushed the two balls together and the grew to the size of a basketball. Naruto pulled back and the lightning surrounded his palms. His left glove, not used to the strain of the attack was shredded.

Kyuubi swallowed his ball of chaos energy and bloated up, before aiming at the blonde and opening his mouth, releasing the compressed energy.

Naruto's hands shot forward, firing a large beam at the fox.

**Boom**. The two attacks collided, fighting against each other before exploding. The shockwave sent Naruto flying to the wall unconscious, then to the floor as the wall fell apart. The cavern shook and began to fall apart. A large slab of rock fell towards Naruto, but just as it was about to hit, Kyuubi's tail sent it flying.

The fox walked over to Naruto, who was lying in the tattered remains of his clothes, surprisingly his cloak was still wearable, as were his pants. The fox stood over the boy as the rest of the cavern fell to pieces around them.

" **You surprised me once again boy. I never expected your final attack to be that strong. But you drained your lifeforce trying to power it."** The fox let out a slow breathe, sending chakra and breathing life into the fallen boy. **" And yet it seems that you have won our bet. I will allow you to wield me. Use my power well, no Naruto."**

The great kitsune, Kyuubi pressed his snout against Naruto's right hand and glove. Red light enveloped them both and when it faded, Naruto's glove had been repaired, on the back, was a metal sheet with a red fox carved into it. A black chain trailed from the plate and swirled around Naruto's arm, all the way to his shoulder, where it attached to another metal plate, this one embedded in his shoulder.

Things were definitely going to get interesting.

**ALRIGHT, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, ANOTHER STORY IN THERE, BUT MY OTHER STORIES AREN'T FORGOTTEN. I'LL BE UPDATING ANOTHER STORY SOON. THIS STORY IS AN AU, BUT IT STILL CONTAINS THE SAME THINGS THAT CANON DOES, LIKE THE WAVE ARC. NOW WHO IS THE WITCH THAT CURSED NARUTO, HOW DID NARUTO'S PARENTS DIE. NEXT CHAPTER WE LOOK INTO NARUTO'S PAST.**

_CHAPTER TWO: A TIME TO REMEMBER, THE WITCHES CURSE. (PREVIEW)_

_Blood leaked from the wound, surrounding him like water…Mother…It blinded him, covering his eyes like shadows…Father…How could this happen, why did this happen…No…Her eyes stared at him, that burning gold color…You…She reached out to him, pressing her fingers onto his forehead…I'll kill YOU…_

**STICK AROUND FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER. VOTE ON THE PAIRING, WILL BE DECIDED IN CHAPTER SIX…WELL TIME TO GO.**

**RASE IS SIGNING OUT**


	2. Chapter 2

NARUTO:SECRETS OF THE RUNE

CHAPTER 2: TIME TO REMEMBER, THE WITCH'S CURSE.

Naruto Namikaze sat up expecting to still be in the ruins of the Hall. Instead, there was a grey mist that covered the horizon, the sun just barely peeking through it. Naruto tried to step forward, but his feet wouldn't move.

' _This place…' _Naruto thought. _' it seems familiar.'_

As the blonde thought this, he heard foot steps. Turning he saw a boy, no older than ten run towards him. Naruto stared at the boy, almost as if he knew the boy. The boy had short spiky blonde hair, his eyes were blue, and he wore a light blue shirt and black shorts, on the back of his shirt was the… Namikaze symbol.

' _Is that dad?' _Naruto question himself as he stared intently at the boy. _' No, it's me…'_

Before he could question it, two other people ran into sight, grins plastered on their face.

" Mom, dad. You found me." The boy called to the red and blonde haired duo.

Minato Namikaze was dressed in standard jounin attire, while his wife wore a simple tank top and jeans ensemble.

" Heh, you gotta do better than that squirt." Minato called. " Alright, ready to go again."

Without even a single glance at the older Naruto, they ran off. Without thinking, Naruto followed.

' _I think I remember this, this is when I first encountered…' _Naruto paused, his thoughts becoming dark as he began to recognize the memory. _' That witch.'_

Naruto stopped as a large wind collided into his younger self, throwing him back towards his parents.

Minato was quickly on guard, pulling a spiral shaped rune from his pocket. " Who's there, show yourself."

" Why Minato-kun, don't you remember me?" A chilling voice called from beyond the mist.

Minato cringed as he heard the voice. A woman dressed in a dark purplish-black dress with raven hair and bottomless black eyes stepped into view. Her lips were painted with a blood red. Her skin was alabaster pale, almost wraithlike. Her dress had no sleeves, revealing her thin arms to all, a red tribal tattoo resting on her right. That markings trailed down to her hand, the points resting on the base of her fingers. Around her neck was a garnet amulet wrapped in a silver snake, wings spread on the back. A thin chain on her neck held the amulet. Her nails were so red it was as if she painted them in fresh blood. Her breast were sizeable, not overly large but a perfect c-cup. With a vulpine smile, she stepped towards the family.

Both minato and the older Naruto growled. " _Kage Majo_(Shadow Witch)."

The woman grinned. " So you do remember me Minato-kun. This must be your lovely wife." The woman looked at Kushina with a sickly sweet smile. " And little Naru."

Minato stepped in front of his wife and child. " Leave them out of this, they aren't apart of this."

" Oh but Minato-kun, you made them apart of this."

" Minato, who is this woman?" Kushina asked.

Minato spared a small glance at his wife and smiled. " Someone very dangerous. I need you to take Naruto and run, I'll hold her off as long as I can."

Kushina wanted to refuse, but the look on her husband's face told her to go. " You better catch up." With a small kiss to his cheek, she ran off, forcing the older Naruto to follow his younger self.

A loud scream stopped Kushina in her tracks. " Naru-chan, keep running, go find old man Sarutobi. Whatever you do don't look back, just keep running, ok?"

Y. Naruto nodded his head as tears flowed down his face, his mind already racing with understanding. With a quick kiss, Kushina turned and ran off. Y. Naruto turned and ran the other way, his tears flooding. Naruto sighed as his feet began following his younger self, he knew what was next.

' _Why am I seeing this, what purpose does it serve?'_ Naruto pondered as he followed. Unknown to his younger self, the mist was imbued with chakra from the witch, he was only running in circles.

As the younger Naruto sped up, hoping to get help before he lost both his kaa-san and tou-san, he tripped over a large object and landed in a puddle. With a slight shake of his head, Y. Naruto stood up. Looking to see what he tripped over, he took a step back. A body was laying in front of him, blood leaking from it profusely. He hit another object, another body, also bleeding. As he stared at the body, he noticed the brilliant red hair on the smaller of the two. With a look of revulsion Y. Naruto recognized the body. It was his mother. Turning her over, he noticed a large gash on her throat and stomach, her eyes glazed over, blood covering her pale cheeks. Naruto let out a cry as he stumbled back, only to fall over the first body. Sparing another glance at it, he recognized the blood covered blonde hair, the once brilliant blue eyes now empty of life, his tou-san. A fist sized hole in his chest, his arm bent at an unnatural angle, his hiraishin kunai jammed into his stomach. With a cry Naruto fell to his knees filled with grief. Footsteps alerted him to the other presence in the area. Turning, he saw the woman his father called a witch standing behind him with a smile. Her hands coated in fresh blood. Naruto scurried away from her in fear, but the woman simply shook her head.

" Now, now Naru-chan, you shouldn't go off alone, you never know what type of fiends are out there." The woman said walking to him.

Y. Naruto's back hit a tree, he froze whimpering in fear. The woman stopped in front of him and smiled once more. Kneeling, the woman looked into Y. Naruto's eyes and her eyes turned gold. The bright gold eyes bore into his and soothed him even though he knew he should be scared.

" There now, I only want to help." The woman said. " I'll give you a gift, but I want something from you also. I want you to grow big and strong okay?"

Y. Naruto nodded, mesmerised by the gold. The woman gave a grin and lifted her hand. An eerier black glow surrounded her hand as she brought it near his face. She pressed two fingers into his forehead, her nails pierced the flesh, creating an opening for the black energy to seep into. Suddenly Y. Naruto's head felt as if it would explode, pain surged through his body. On each cheek appeared three light lines, almost invisible. On his forehead, the wounds closed and left a band like tattoo which faded from view as soon as it appeared. With a snap of her fingers, the Kage Majo stood and turned to the bodies. The bodies were engulfed in the same black energy and with a slight shake, they stood. Their eyes had turned black and emotionless, they looked at their son, who had fallen to the ground. As Y. Naruto's pain faded, he stood and looked towards the woman. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw his parents standing behind the woman.

" kaa-san, tou-san." Y. Naruto called to them weakly.

The two walked towards him, but instead of speaking, Kushina picked the small blonde up and slammed him into a tree. Before the shocked and hurt Naruto could react, Minato sent a knee into his stomach. The blonde cough up blood and spit as the knee forced the air from his lungs.

" kaa-san, tou-san, why? Why are you doing this?" Naruto called out weakly, only to be thrown into the ground.

" They are doing this, because I have told them too. Either you fight back, or you die. Either way you will be mine." The woman called.

Naruto got to his knees slowly, pleading with the empty shells that were once his parents. The shells simply ignored his cries and kicked him into the air. Y. Naruto flew back and hit another tree with a loud crack.

Y. Naruto stood slowly. " ple-please. St-stop it, don't…" Naruto's words were cut short as he was slammed into another tree.

The real Naruto could only watch with a grimace as his younger self was continually beat by his once parents.

" Naruto, if you don't fight, you will die. You don't want to die do you?" The witch called.

Y. Naruto stood slowly, blood dripping from his mouth and forehead. " I-I can't, their t-too stro…" A kick to the head stopped the blondes words and sent him flying.

Y. Naruto hit the ground and rolled, coming to a stop at the base of a tree. Coughing, Y. Naruto stood , leaning against the tree for support as he saw his parents coming closer.

" Naru-chan you have the power to beat them. Use my gift." The woman stated. " Come on Naru-chan, use my gift."

Naruto felt the power in him from the moment she ' blessed' him, but the power was malevolent he could feel it. His mother kicked at him, Naruto dodged the blow and the power began to well up in him.

' _Kaa-san, tou-san I'm sorry.'_ **" ENOUGH"** The real Naruto thought, interrupting the memory.

Everything went black briefly before the scene turned to an endless hall with doors lining the walls.

" **Very well kit, I have seen enough."** A familiar baritone voice called.

Turning Naruto saw Kyuubi standing behind him. " What was the point in viewing that particular memory?" Questioned Naruto.

" **I wanted to see why your chasing powerful runes, I wanted to see your resolve." **The fox called.

" I killed them, the power she gave me, it was so evil, but it felt great. When I came to my senses she spoke a few more words to me before she left me in the mess I had caused. To this day everyone thinks they died on a mission. But I know the truth, so does jii-san." Naruto stated sadly. " Until the witch dies, I will never be rid of this curse and until then I will continue to hunt for the power to kill her."

The fox nodded. **" Very well, you may use my power for as long as you need under one condition." **

" That is?" Naruto asked.

" **When you complete your task, you must place me back in the hall. Our bond shall be over."** The fox stated.

" I understand."

**Whoa, this chapter is done. It's short too. Sorry for the late update, but this story slipped from my mind for a while. Then I got a review about it that brought it back to my attention. This chapter was a simple explanation of how Naruto got cursed. I'll try to update the story sooner, but it will still be a while, I have several other stories clouding my head, but I'm working mostly on Lightning Mage, Mizu no Oni, Dark Jinchuuriki and Ki Wielding Nin. **

**Until next time**

**RASE OUT**


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the delays but I promise to update soon. Keep a look out for all my stories and spread the word Rase is Back


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